Two disturbing developments have occurred in the last couple of days that have gone relatively unnoticed compared to the recent IRS, AP, and Benghazi scandals.
First, the senate is debating an expansion
of the already broad powers of the 2001 Authorization to Use Military
Force (AUMF) so the U.S. can essentially engage any area in the world in
the war on terror, including America. Which brings us to the second
development: the Pentagon has recently granted itself police powers on
American soil.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Sheehan told Congress yesterday
that the AUMF authorized the US military to operate on a worldwide
battlefield from Boston to Pakistan. Sheehan emphasized that the
Administration is authorized to put boots on the ground wherever the
enemy chooses to base themselves, essentially ignoring the declaration
of war clause in the US Constitution.
Senator Angus King said this interpretation of the
AUMF is a "nullity" to the Constitution because it ignores Congress'
role to declare war. King called it the "most astoundingly disturbing
hearing" he's been to in the Senate.
But perhaps most disturbing of all of this is the military's authority
to police American streets as if it was in civil war. For all those
still in denial that America is a militarized police state, this should
be the ultimate cure to your delusion.
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